Materials related to
Russell H. Barrett's tenure as a professor of political science at the
University of Mississippi. Much of the collections pertains to the
integration of Ole Miss by James Meredith in September 1962, and the
riots that ensued on campus and in the town of Oxford. Includes personal
papers, pamphlets, reports, manuscripts, sermons, and other materials on
various topics such as academic freedom on college campuses and the
civil rights movement in Mississippi.

Quantity:

12.22 cubic
ft.

Number:

MUM00024

Location:

D 13 & 14

Repository :

The University of
MississippiJ.D. Williams Library, Archives &
Special Collections

Russell H. Barrett was born in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, in 1919.
After serving in the Air Force from 1942 to 1945, he earned his
bachelor's degree in 1946 and master's degree in 1947, both from the
University of Kansas. In 1952, he completed his doctorate in political
science at the University of Melbourne (Australia). He taught at the
University of Kansas (1947-50), the University of California at Berkeley
(1952-53), and San Francisco State College (1953-54) before serving as a
political science professor at The University of Mississippi from 1954
to 1976.

Barrett's best-known work is Integration at
Ole Miss, an eyewitness account of the battle to integrate The
University of Mississippi, published in 1965 by Quadrangle Books.
Barrett was as an advisor to James Meredith, the first African American
student to attend the University in 1962. During the controversy
surrounding Meredith's enrollment, Barrett served as an intermediary
between the United States Justice Department, faculty members, and
university administrators. His support for integration was actively
opposed by groups such as the Citizens' Council.

Barrett served on the national council of the American Association of
University Professors, which cautiously supported integration efforts at
The University of Mississippi. He is also the author of Promises and Performances in Australian Politics, 1928
to 1959, published by the Institute of Pacific Relations in
1959.

Scope and Content Note

The Russell H. Barrett Collection documents the integration of The
University of Mississippi in 1962 and race relations and academic
freedom at the University through the early 1970s. In addition, it
contains Barrett's academic papers, including rough drafts of his
manuscript for Integration of Ole
Miss.

Boxes 1 and 2 contain biographical information about Barrett and his
correspondence dating from 1959 to 1974. The bulk of correspondence
pertains to academic affairs and campus events. It also contains letters
from 1962 to 1965 about the integration of the University, including
letters Barrett wrote to reporters describing the situation on campus,
his correspondence with Assistant Attorney General Burke Marshall, and
positive and negative letters he received in reaction to his support for
integration.

Boxes 3 through 8 contain material related to civil rights, academic
freedom, and the publication of Integration at
Ole Miss. The bulk of this material dates from 1961 to 1970. Box
3 contains a variety of documents pertaining to the enrollment of James
Meredith at The University of Mississippi in 1962, including
correspondence, reports, sermons, speeches, press releases, resolutions,
and notebooks. Box 4 consists of material related to academic freedom on
college campuses. Boxes 5, 6, and 8 contain items related to race
relations at The University of Mississippi, civil rights organizations,
courses given by Dr. Barrett, and visiting speakers. These items include
leaflets, pamphlets, reports, postcards, ephemera, and periodicals. Box
7 contains drafts of the manuscript for Integration at Ole Miss, notes, and book
reviews.

Boxes 15, 16, 18, and 19 consist of duplicates of items found
elsewhere in the Barrett Collection.

Restrictions

Copyright Restrictions

This collection is protected from unauthorized copying by the
Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code)
governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted
material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and
archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction.
One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction
is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship
or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy
or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use", that user may be
liable for copyright infringement.

Index Terms

Academic freedom

Barrett, Russell
H.

Civil rights -- Mississippi
-- Oxford

College integration --
Mississippi -- Oxford -- History

Meredith, James

Race relations

Riots -- Mississippi --
Oxford

University of Mississippi
-- History

Related Material

The Russell Barrett Collection -- Photographs (CPB17 -- Prints) in
the Department of Archives and Special Collections, The University of
Mississippi, contains photographs by Barrett, Fred Ward, Flip Schulke,
and the United Press International documenting riots during the
integration of the University as well as James Meredith's
graduation.

Separated Material

The following item from the Barrett Collection was moved to
University Small Manuscripts:

University of Mississippi Circulation Record Book, 1943

The following items from the Barrett Collection were removed for
cataloging:

"What is the Citizens' Council Doing?," pamphlet,
undated

"The Ugly Truth About the NAACP," an address by Attorney
General Eugene Cook of Georgia before the 55th Annual Convention of
the Peace Officers Association of Georgia, printed by the Citizens'
Council, undated

"Statewide Scholarship, Essay Contest for Mississippi High
School Students, 1959-60," printed by the Citizens' Council

Meet the Press with James H. Meredith transcript, 26 May
1963

"The Church Considers the Supreme Court Decision," printed by
the Diocese of Mississippi, 1954

University of Mississippi General
Information Bulletin, 1962

Granite, 17 March 1969

Tougaloo News, December
1963

"Some Highlights of Ole Miss," undated

"Academic Freedom and Tenure: Alcorn Agricultural and
Mechanical College," report from American Association of University
Professors Bulletin, September 1962

"Letter from a Birmingham Jail," by Martin Luther King, Jr.,
printed by American Friends Service Committee, May 1963